~ Military News ~
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Subsistence Allowance, Most
Housing Allowances to Rise in 2012
by Karen
Parrish, American Forces Press Service
The Defense Department announced the 2012
BAH rates today, along with basic allowance for subsistence rates, which will
also increase slightly.
Department officials said the average BAH
increase for 2012 is approximately $39 per month, though the actual amount
depends on where a service member lives, what his or her rank is and whether he
or she is supporting family members.
Cheryl Anne Woehr,
defense BAH program manager, said about 35 percent of the military's housing
areas will see a housing allowance decrease, but the change will apply only to
members newly reporting to those locations.
Service members are given individual rate
protection, she said, which ensures that those already assigned to a location
will not see their BAH rate decrease. However, they will receive the increase
if the rate goes up.
That protection ensures the rate change
doesn't penalize service members who already are obligated to leases or rental
contracts based on a previous, higher housing cost, Woehr
said.
"We measure the cost of rental housing
in each area, and economic factors can have different influences in each
area," she said. "That's why rates are going up in some areas and
down in others."
DOD collects housing data annually for each
military housing area, recording current local costs for rent, renter's
insurance and utilities including electricity, heating, water and sewer, she
explained.
Any year-to-year change in any of those
factors can cause an increase or decrease in BAH, Woehr
noted.
"The highest [BAH] rates are in the
areas you'd expect, the high-cost urban areas such as
Woehr said service
members stationed outside the
Defense officials said BAH rates are
determined based on six housing profiles -- varying by dwelling type and number
of bedrooms -- in each military housing area. Rates are calculated for each pay
grade, both with and without dependents.
Officials said more than 1 million service
members will receive an estimated $20 billion in total BAH payments during
2012.
Officials said the 2012 subsistence
allowance, which will also take effect Jan. 1, is designed to cover the cost of
food for service members who do not have access to military dining facilities.
That allowance will increase from $325.04 to $348.44 for enlisted troops, and
from $223.84 to $239.96 for officers.
The allowance is based on the Department of
Agriculture's "cost of food at home index," which increased 7.2
percent between October 2011 and October 2011, officials said.
__________________________________________________________________
Panetta Concludes
by Donna
Miles, American Forces Press Service
"No words, no ceremony can provide full
tribute to the sacrifices that have brought this day to pass," the
secretary said during a ceremony here.
Panetta paid tribute to the Iraqi government
and military for their courage, leadership and loyalty to
He also praised the leadership of Ambassador
James Jeffrey and Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Forces Iraq, who
oversaw the drawdown that the secretary called "one of the most complex
logistical undertakings in
"Your effort to make this day a reality
is nothing short of miraculous," he said.
But Panetta reserved his highest praise for
more than 1 million
The secretary recognized the nearly 4,500
service members who died and more than 30,000 who were wounded making this
progress a reality.
He also acknowledged family members who have
experienced the strain, sacrifice and heartbreak of watching their loved ones
deploy into harm's way time and time again.
The
outcome being commemorated today was never certain, the secretary said. He
recalled traveling to
Five years later, at great cost in both
blood and treasure, "the mission of an
"The Iraqi army and police have been
rebuilt. Violence levels are down, al-Qaida weakened, rule of law strengthened,
educational opportunities expanded and economic growth expanding," he
said. "And this progress has been sustained even as we have withdrawn
nearly 150,000
The cost has been high, in blood and
treasure for the
Panetta emphasized that
In addition to a significant diplomatic
presence, the
"We will continue to have a robust and
enduring military presence across the
For
"We undertake this transition today
reminding
"This is not the end," he
concluded. "This is truly the beginning."
After the casing of the colors, Panetta met
with about 100 service members deployed during the final days of Operation New
Dawn to thank them for their service.
"It is because of you," and those
who served here during the past eight years, "that we are able to be here
today to mark the end of this war," he said.
Asked by a young service member if the
"We may be ending the war, but we are
not walking away from our responsibilities," he said.
________________________________________________________________________________
General Explains Changes to
Mortuary Disposal Process
by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
Jones, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff
for manpower, personnel and services, discussed with Pentagon reporters the
disposition of subsequently indentified remains.
Jones said Air Force leaders are sorry if
the process has caused families any further anguish.
The prevalence of improvised explosive
devices in today's combat -- everything from buried hand grenades to large
bombs filled with hundreds of pounds of explosives � has complicated mortuary
processes, Jones explained.
"The remains of many of our fallen are
fragmented," he said. "We strive to return these fallen to their
families as intact as possible."
This is often difficult and sometimes the
armed forces medical examiner determines the remains are incomplete. A family
member then signs a statement electing how to dispose of any subsequently identified
remains, Jones said. "The family determines how the service will proceed
if additional portions of remains are identified," he said.
In some cases, the family does not want to
be notified if additional portions of remains are identified, Jone said, adding that the additional remains most often
are small portions of soft tissue or bone fragments.
Prior to 2008, when families chose not to be
notified of these remains, the mortuary disposed of them using
"appropriate industry standards," Jones said. The remains were taken
to a local funeral home for cremation. The cremated remains were then given to
a contractor for incineration and subsequent disposal in a landfill. Remains of
274 service members were disposed of this way between 2003 and 2008, the
general said.
"In 2008, the director of the Port
Mortuary reviewed these processes and recommended to the Central Joint Mortuary
Affairs Board that the services implement a retirement--at-sea option that was
more fitting for subsequently identified remains," Jones said.
The retirement at sea is a dignified
ceremony, and that has been the standard since 2008. The remains are cremated
and placed in a sea-salt urn. The mortuary arranges with the Navy to have the
retirement at sea.
Jones said the mortuary mission is to treat
all remains with dignity, honor and respect. Mortuary employees also stand
ready to help the families of the fallen. In 2008, mortuary employees were the
ones who pushed for the change once they realized how the remains were being
disposed of.
"It was employees at the Dover Port
Mortuary who, on their own volition, came up with that suggestion, that
recommendation, to make that policy change back in 2008," Pentagon
spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby told reporters today. "That wasn't
something imposed upon them. It wasn't the result of some [inspector general]
report. They came up with this on their own."
The Air Force has set up a hotline for
families who have questions about the processes the mortuary used. It is
1-855-637-2583. Or families with questions can e-mail officials at
dover.pm@pentagon.af.mil.
"We will be forthright, we will tell
them everything we know about the disposition of their loved one," Jones
said.
________________________________________________________________________________
Japanese-American Vets
Receive Bronze Star Medals
by C.
Todd Lopez, Army News Service
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno pins a Bronze Star on Medal of Honor recipient
George Joe Sakato at a Nov. 1, 2011, ceremony in
Washington, D.C., in which 40 World War II soldiers from all-Japanese-American
units -- the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Infantry Battalion and the
Military Intelligence Service -- were awarded the Bronze Star.
The Japanese-American soldiers fought as
part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Infantry Battalion and the
Military Intelligence Service.
Army officials decided that all soldiers who
wore the Combat Infantry Badge from World War II were owed a Bronze Star; some,
however, never received theirs.
Getting such an award, in many cases,
depended on "how good your clerk was, ... and
some of the clerks were not that great," said retired Army Lt. Gen. Joseph
F. Peterson. It's really a matter of poor paperwork that the soldiers had to
wait so long to get their Bronze Stars, he added.
The general organized a
three-day recognition of Japanese-American soldiers in
At the event, 31 of those soldiers were
present to have the medal pinned on their chest by Army Chief of Staff Gen.
Raymond T. Odierno. Another nine Bronze Stars were
provided to the family members of soldiers who could not attend or who have
died.
"It's amazing to get a star like
this," said Don K. Masuda, one of the recipients of the award. The former
soldier attended the event with his wife, his daughter, and two of his
grandsons. He said he's led "a pretty good life" since leaving the
Army, which has included being a co-owner of a shipping business in his native
He served as an infantryman in World War II,
in both
Fellow 442nd RCT soldier George Joe Sakato was also at the award ceremony -- both as a
recipient of the Bronze Star and as a speaker. Sakato
is one of 21 Japanese-American Medal of Honor recipients to come out of the
442nd RCT and 100th Infantry Battalion.
On behalf of the 33,000 Japanese-Americans
soldiers who served in World War II, Sakato thanked
Congress for the Congressional Gold Medal they are received. He also thanked
his country for the opportunity to earn that honor.
"We also thank the government, which
allowed us to serve in the U.S. Army to defend our country and to prove our
loyalty to
Odierno reiterated
for those at the event the greatness of the Japanese-American soldiers' service
and the service of all who served in World War II, calling them "the
greatest generation."
But the general also touched on the tragedy
those soldiers faced that other soldiers did not. Many of their families back
home were locked away in camps and branded as enemies of
"From the shock of
Those Japanese-American soldiers, he said,
served as infantrymen, linguists, military intelligence specialists and
artillerymen.
"Over 33,000 Japanese-Americans served
in the war," Odierno said. "And of those,
over 13,000 served in the 442nd, and earned over 9,000 Purple Hearts."
The 442nd became the most highly decorated
unit in the Army's history, Odierno said. The 442nd
and the 100th Infantry Battalion together earned seven Presidential Unit
Citations, two Meritorious Service Plaques, 36 Army Commendation Medals, and 87
Division Commendations. Individually, soldiers earned 21 Medals of Honor, 29
Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, more than 354
Silver Stars, and more than 4,000 Purple Hearts.
"Together, they define the ethos that
we all live by today: 'Never leave a fallen comrade,'" Odierno
said.
The experience of World War II provided a
lesson about tolerance, the general said.
"The lesson of the Japanese-American
experience is that fear and prejudice make our country weaker, not
stronger," Odierno said.
"Japanese-Americans, like others, have more than earned their place in our
country, in our Army, and in our society -- a melting pot to include
African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and today, Arab-Americans."
About 240 veterans attended the Bronze Star
event. Another 100 spouses of deceased veterans also attended, as did about 500
family members representing soldiers.
Peterson, who has Japanese ancestry, said
the event was both to honor those soldiers who served, and to educate
"It's educational for our nation to
know that a group of soldiers and a group of Americans, who because of the mass
hysteria when the imperial military of
About 120,000 Japanese-Americans were
rounded up, Peterson said, and put into any of 10 internment camps across nine
states.
"Out of those camps came
a demand, by 65 percent of them -- 65 percent of 120,000 internees -- to serve
their country in a time of war," he said.
Those soldiers who
served in units like the 442nd RCT, the 100th Infantry Battalion and the
Military Intelligence Service, Peterson said, averaged number three individual
awards for heroism.
"They are the most decorated unit in
Medal of Honor recipient George Joe Sakato speaks at a Nov. 1, 2011, ceremony in Washington,
D.C., in which 40 World War II soldiers from all-Japanese-American units -- the
442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Infantry Battalion and the Military
Intelligence Service -- were awarded the Bronze Star.
________________________________________________________________________________
Dempsey Calls for Increasing US Partnership with
by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
Turkish Defense Minister Ismet
Yilmaz, left, talks with Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during the 30th Annual Conference on
U.S. and Turkish Relations in Washington D.C., Nov. 1, 2011. DOD photo by D.
Myles Cullen
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey called for the
relationship between the two countries to continue expanding, acknowledging
that they won't always agree.
"As our partnership grows,
... we may have an occasional difference or two," Dempsey said.
"That is OK. In fact, in some ways, this is healthy for two free and
sovereign nations."
The biggest disagreement between the two
nations occurred in 2003, when
The chairman echoed Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton, who spoke to the conference Oct. 31.
"I have to confess that some Americans,
including quite a few on Capitol Hill, have questions about the future of this
vital partnership,"
"Now, we do not always see eye to
eye," she continued. "In fact, no two nations -- or two friends, or
even two members of the same family -- ever do. But we are confident that as
"
Terrorists have targeted both
"Rest assured," he said, "the
Dempsey extended the sympathies and prayers
of the 2.2 million men and women in the
"We've been very proud to play even a
small part in helping you recover from that," he said. "You know and
can be sure that our country is committed to you as you recover and rebuild,
and we're proud to call you our friends."
Dempsey said he is confident that the
"We must stay engaged and keep
communicating," he said, "because as our already strong relationship
grows in breadth and depth, we have to move beyond the world of labels. We need
to move beyond the old paradigms of East and West, Christian or Muslim, New
World or
The chairman added a personal note, telling
the audience that the day marked his one-year anniversary of being cancer-free.
"Last year I had cancer," he said.
"You can't imagine how that changes your perspective on things. It allows
you ... to see things and empathize with people more than, perhaps, I'm sorry
to say, I did before."
Turkish Defense Minister Ismet
Yilmaz attended the meeting after having met with
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta at the Pentagon earlier in the day.
"The two leaders discussed a broad
range of mutually significant security issues, to include defense-industrial
cooperation, foreign military sales, the common threat of terrorism and
regional challenges," Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby said in a
written statement.
Panetta reassured Yilmaz
of America's commitment to a strong security relationship with
________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Officials Stress Keeping
Faith on Military Retirement
by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
Jo Ann Rooney, principal deputy
undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and Vee
Penrod, deputy assistant secretary of defense for
military personnel policy, testified on military retirement before the House
Armed Services Committee's military personnel subcommittee.
The Defense Business Board has proposed
making a military retirement system more like private-sector systems. The
military system has remained fairly constant over time, Rooney said, while the
private sector has changed its retirement systems to cater to the increasingly
mobile workforce.
"Unlike [the private] sector, the
military services must grow most of their military workforce internally,"
she said. "It generally takes 15 to 20 years to develop the next
generation of infantry battalion commanders and submarine captains. As a
result, the military must ensure compensation, promotions and personnel
policies that all foster the retention and longer careers necessary to create
these experienced leaders."
The military, she said, needs greater
longevity and continuity to develop leaders, and a retirement system mirroring
a private-sector approach -- with contributions from individuals and
transportable benefits -- may not be the best way for the uniformed services to
go.
This does not mean that the current system
is sacrosanct, Rooney said. The department should examine the retirement system
in the context of a total military compensation system, she added.
DOD officials, she told the panel, are
examining all aspects of the retirement system for all components. Rooney said
the review has been deliberate, careful and pragmatic, and that officials are
reviewing proposals and modeling them to determine the impact on recruiting and
retention.
The Defense Department, she said, is working
to strike the correct balance. "This includes weighing the impact of a new
system on recruiting and retention, considering the welfare of the individual
service members and families -- which includes grandfathering our existing
force who took their oath under the current system -- and acknowledging our
responsibility to the American taxpayer," she said.
The current military retirement system has
supported the most-successful volunteer force in the world, Penrod
noted.
"The question now," Penrod added, "is whether the current system is still
relevant in today's environment. If not, should it be modified in a manner more
in line with the private sector?"
Officials are not looking at retirement in
isolation, Penrod pointed out, but rather at how
personnel and pay policies affect decisions to join the military and then to
stay.
________________________________________________________________________________
Partnership is 'Win-Win' for
Spouses, Employers
by Elaine
Sanchez, American Forces Press Service
The Defense Department launched the program
in June with about 60 employers on board, and it has grown to encompass 96
corporate partners who have committed to aiding spouses in finding and
identifying portable jobs. The partnership also features an online job search
site, http://www.msepjobs.com, and career and education counseling.
The partnership is about finding a good fit
for spouses and employers, Robert L. Gordon III, deputy assistant secretary of
defense for military community and family policy, said during the annual
partners meeting at the Association of the U.S. Army 2011 Annual Meeting and
Exposition here.
The nation has 1.2 million military spouses
-- 85 percent of whom want or need to work, he noted. Yet, one in four military
spouses is unemployed or looking for work, and when
they find it they earn, on average, 25 percent less than their civilian
counterparts.
Spouses aren't seeking preferential
treatment, Gordon added, they just want a level playing field and the same job
consideration as their civilian counterparts.
Meanwhile, companies are seeking skilled, loyal
workers with the ability to team-build and organize while working in diverse
settings, and "our spouses get that through their experiences," he
said.
Military spouses represent "an
unbelievable pool of talent," agreed Deanie
Dempsey, wife of Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, who also spoke at the event.
As a 35-year military spouse, Dempsey said
she's seen firsthand the struggles military spouses have encountered
maintaining employment and education due to frequent moves. Employers are
hesitant, she added, to hire someone who may be moving in a year or two. But
they would be missing out to bypass a military spouse, she said.
Spouses are "dedicated, they're
patriotic and resilient," she said. "If the last 10 years has proven
nothing else, it's proven that for our spouses."
Over the past 10 years, spouses have juggled
households, kids, careers and education -- and done so singlehandedly during
deployments and separations, Dempsey said.
These spouses have a "wealth of
experiences," she added.
Dempsey cited Army spouse Tiffany Smiley
whose husband, Army Capt. Scott Smiley, was blinded in a car bomb attack in
"Wouldn't you want to have someone like
that on your side?" Dempsey said.
As for the partnership, "I truly
believe it's a win-win situation for employers and for the spouses," she
said.
Gordon recalled a day early in his tenure
when an employer came into his office and said he loved military spouses
because they were "highly skilled and cheap."
"That's not how it's going to be,"
he said.
But the DOD can't do it alone it will take a
community to level that playing field, he said, noting that 70 percent of the
military community lives in the civilian community.
"When we think about solutions to
empower our military community to be the very best they can be, it's not just
about DOD, it's about working on this together.
"Our spouses deserve it, and so do our
employers," he added.
________________________________________________________________________________
Army Leadership Discusses
Budget Outlook
by C.
Todd Lopez, Army News Service
Army Secretary John M. McHugh speaks during opening ceremonies for the
Association of the U.S. Army's annual meeting and exposition in Washington,
D.C., Oct. 10, 2011.
Speaking at the opening day of the 2011
Association of the U.S. Army's annual meeting and exposition here, McHugh said
the potential for the department to face additional budget cuts of $500 billion
to $600 billion in the next decade keeps him up at night.
Those additional cuts could happen if a
congressional "super committee" looking at ways to reduce the federal
debt by $1.2 trillion can't come to agreement by Thanksgiving. If that happens,
the debt reduction law passed over the summer forces a
"sequestration," by which as much as half that amount must come from
national security spending.
"I think we're in a positive position
to accommodate at least the $450 billion or so in cuts that have been scheduled
against the DOD to this point," McHugh told a panel of journalists at the
meeting. But sequestration would be catastrophic, he added, "certainly to
the Army and certainly to our national defense posture."
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said at the meeting that the potential for a
"hollow force" would not come to fruition. Instead, he said, a ready
and capable force would exist, though its size might be affected.
"No matter what happens, we are not
going to have a hollow force," Odierno said.
"We are going to have a force that is a certain size that has the
modernization and readiness necessary to be quality."
McHugh and Odierno
agreed that defense cuts likely would be shared equally across the services.
Earlier, at the opening ceremony of the AUSA
event, McHugh addressed more than 3,000 guests, including soldiers, civilian
employees and defense contractors. He pointed out that while all services
contribute to the fight, the Army carries the brunt of the mission in both
"There's no getting around the fact
that it is the Army that has been saddled with much of the burden these past
years, providing between 50 to 70 percent of our deployable forces," he
said. "While I am loath to view our men and women in uniform as mere
budgetary statistics, I think it is important to remind people that while the
U.S. Army represents half of our nation's entire force, we consume only a
quarter to 30 percent of the entire defense budget."
The secretary said decision makers often
fail to correctly predict the nature of future conflicts and that following
conflicts like World War I, World War II and
This time, he added, the Army has seen the
economic downturn in advance, as well as the impending budget cuts.
"Unlike in the past, this time we have
seen this downturn coming for some time," he said. "We have been
analyzing the best ways to meet these challenges, and as such, I can tell you
we are better positioned than at any time in our nation's history to deal with
the fiscal realities and do it in a way that truly makes sense."
Part of dealing with fiscal realities,
McHugh said, is cuts to the total number of men and women in uniform. The end
strength will eventually look different than it does now, and with the drawdowns in
"But what is critically important is
that no matter what the force ultimately looks like, we have sufficient time to
ramp down to ensure we do it in a balanced way, and that we have what is
necessary for training and equipment and reset," McHugh said.
Another concern, he said, are suggestions
that some of the services recover at the sacrifices of others and that the
McHugh said that while air power and
technology are critical,
"No major conflict has ever been won
without boots on the ground," he said. "And accordingly, our national
interests demand that while we set about the task of reshaping this Army for
the years ahead, we remain steadfast and continue to support this, the greatest
land force the world has ever known."
Efforts to help the Army find ways to save
money and absorb looming budget cuts already are under way, McHugh said.
For example, he said, the service is
removing redundancies and overlap in research. Additionally, McHugh said, he
has asked that the Army look into the multiple and expensive temporary task
forces that have become "permanent."
Also under way, he added, are efforts to
streamline the requirements process, to reform the Installation Management
Command, and to make "sweeping changes" to human capital management.
McHugh said changes will be made to find
cost savings within the Army Service Acquisition program, where $243 billion
was spent in 2010 -- including $140 billion on contracts, more than half of
that on services.
A McHugh-issued directive will create a new
government structure that will consolidate about 45 percent of service
obligations into six portfolio management centers, he said. Those include
facility support services, medical services, transportation services,
electronics and communications, equipment related services, and knowledge-based
services.
"This will, I believe, improve
oversight effectiveness, while helping us tailor and apply and monitor the
results of better buying practices for improved acquisition, as well as
leveraging portfolio demand for better prices," he said. Those types of actions,
he said, will help the Army deal with the budgets that will be made for the
service by others.
McHugh said he will help to guide the Army
through the budget crisis, and will keep soldiers in mind when doing so.
"We can, we must -- and I promise you
-- we will do better," he said.
________________________________________________________________________________
Face of Defense: Brother,
Sister Serve in
by Marine
Corps Cpl. Justin M. Boling, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Marine Corps
Sgt. Eric Rader and his sister, Air Force Staff Sgt. Rebecca McHenry, serve
together at Camp Leatherneck,
The siblings' father, Allen Rader, was an
airman who took his family from their home in
"We always had each other," said
Rader, who deployed here in February. "Looking back at it now, I really
appreciate having her and my brother, and appreciate serving with her
now." The siblings said they've had a lot to catch up on since McHenry
arrived in September, including Rebecca's wedding.
"We both have our own families
now," Rader said. "We will definitely spend more time together when
we get back home."
McHenry serves with the Air Force's 651st
Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, which
flies injured troops out of
"There is a great sense of pride in
knowing that my sister helps my fellow Marines and other troops get back on
their feet and home to their loved ones," Rader said.
Rader is deployed with 2nd Marine Aircraft
Wing from
"I am very proud of my brother for
being a Marine," McHenry said. "I like knowing that he does a great
job, and I see the fruits of his labor, seeing all the Marines walking around
in Afghanistan [and] knowing he played a small part in that."
Despite the rigors of deployment, Rader and
McHenry said they find time to speak about their lives and families back home
almost every day.
"My sister is always sitting at the
dining facility waiting for me at lunch," Rader said. "It makes the
time go by faster, having something to look forward to almost every day."
"He used to pick on me sometimes,"
McHenry said of her brother. "Since being out here, he has only been
protective -- the perfect gentleman."
________________________________________________________________________________
Marine Pursues Photography
in
A Potential Career for a
Nyssa,
by Marine
Corps Cpl. Rashaun X. James, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
What began as a casual interest in
photography for Marine Corps Sgt. Tristeza Castellanoz has grown into a long-term hobby, a method of
expression and a potential career for the Nyssa,
Capturing moments in time is a passion for Castellanoz. What began as a casual interest in photography
has grown into a long-term hobby, a method of expression and a potential career
for the Nyssa,
Castellanoz's
interest in photography began when she was around 13, she said, when she always
had an abundance of film rolls to be developed, full of whatever images she
captured in the world around her.
Now Castellanoz is
an aviation operations specialist deployed here with 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
As the wing's air tasking order chief, she oversees
air support requests from Marines and their coalition partners operating in
southwestern
Castellanoz has a
busy job during her year-long deployment here, but when a lull in her schedule
presents itself, she often grabs her professional-grade digital camera and
continues to hone her skills, finding her weaknesses and strengths. The thing
she enjoys most is photographing people.
"I like seeing how a person grows over
time," she said. "It's interesting for me to see how my siblings, who
all have children now, have grown up and how much their children favor
them."
The people around Castellanoz
often become the subjects of her photos. "I took pictures of the Marines
in my exercise class and let them have them afterwards," she said.
"My officer in charge was telling me that he sent them to his wife as well
as other Marines that work for me."
Having had no formal training, Castellanoz progresses her skills by experience alone,
taking any opportunity to capture a unique moment.
"Since I got my new camera, I've gotten
a lot of offers from people to come and take photos for them," she said.
"I do photography jobs on the side now, mostly for friends and family.
When I went home on emergency leave, I did a photo session for my best friend
to give to her father on Father's Day."
Castellanoz said
she has received several offers to photograph weddings and other events, but
has had to turn them down due to her deployment. However, being deployed to a
foreign land yields its own set of unique opportunities.
"Being in the Marine Corps has
definitely helped my photography skills," she said. "It's given me a
way to do things that I normally would not have the opportunity to do back in
the states.
"I think that if I wouldn't have
enlisted and just stayed in Oregon, I would've been limited on where I could
travel to and what I could take pictures of," said Castellanoz,
who is deployed out of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C. "While I've
been stationed on the East Coast, I had the opportunity to go to New York
around New Year's and got to take pictures of Central Park."
After her career in the Corps, Castellanoz said, she plans to pursue a career in
photography. But while she remains on active service, she said, she may
consider changing specialties to a field with a focus on photography.
"I like my job, I like what I do, and I
like being in charge," she said. "But, if the Marine Corps gives you the opportunity to pursue something you can do
after the Marine Corps, you should take it."
While Castellanoz
has other passions including playing guitar, singing and cooking, photography
is something that has shown her a way to express herself and relate to the
emotions of others in a special way.
"Photography really inspires me, and I
feel like my passion for it became greater and more realized after my dad
passed away," she said. "So much lies in a photo. It can show you
emotions at times that words can't. Now more than ever, I want to pursue this,
because I never want to miss a moment that could last a lifetime for me or the
people I am photographing."
________________________________________________________________________________
Cyber Strategy's Thrust is
Defensive
by Karen
Parrish, American Forces Press Service
Nations typically launch such attacks,
Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III said today, but a growing risk of
terrorist groups and rogue states developing similar capabilities drives the
need to strengthen the nation's cyber defenses.
"All of the advanced capabilities we
have, whether it's targeting or navigation or communication,
... have a backbone that's run through information technology," he
said. "So if you're a smart adversary and you're seeking an asymmetric way
to come at the
Attacks in cyberspace are hard to trace to
the source, which makes retaliation an ineffective strategy,
The strategy rests on five pillars, he said:
treat cyber as a domain; employ more active defenses; support the Department of
Homeland Security in protecting critical infrastructure networks; practice
collective defense with allies and international partners; and reduce the
advantages attackers have on the Internet.
The department established U.S. Cyber
Command in May 2010 to address the Internet as a domain, just as it does land,
sea, air and space. Cyber Command develops doctrine, training and equipment for
cyber defense,
"We have, within Cyber Command, a full
spectrum of capabilities, but the thrust of the strategy is defensive,"
"You want to be able to hunt on your
own networks, to find things that get past the perimeter," he said.
"It's a more dynamic approach to defense."
"If we were in some sort of world where
we were able to protect the military networks and the power grid went down,
that would not be good militarily," he said.
"We think that over time, research and
development money might rebalance that somewhat and impose costs on the
attacker," Lynn said, offering as an example of promising technology the
ability to encrypt data at rest without increasing processing time, which the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and private-sector companies are
working to develop.
"That's the kind of thing that would
... give more advantages to the defender. So if you broke in [to a network] you
would then have to decrypt the data," he said. "It's a much, much
harder problem for an attacker."
In the 1980s and 1990s, DOD invested in
high-performance computing for cryptanalysis and other military applications,
"That helped seed a whole
industry," he said. "It helped, I think, accelerate the development
of technologies."
Similar advances can result from the
department's efforts now, he said, noting DOD's cyber investment includes a
half billion dollars in research funding for DARPA in the last budget.
"We've got a very strong partnership
with our defense industrial base now," he said. "We have, I think,
worked through processes where we're sharing data, sharing an
understanding of the threat ... and that just strengthens
everybody."
Close cooperation among DOD, other agencies
and private industry limits risk,
DOD also coordinates with defense companies
and the information technology industry through the enduring security
framework, he said, which allows the department to solicit technical solutions
to threats.
"It's a very soft touch," he said.
"This is a collaborative forum. ... There's no government direction in
that, but we've seen several specific instances where they have indeed made
upgrades based on the description of the threats."
On the international front, the
"The White House just put out an
international strategy with the idea of broadening that group of international
partners," he added.
"There certainly are sovereignty
issues,"
________________________________________________________________________________
Sensor Network Detects Nuclear Blasts
Worldwide
by Cheryl
Pellerin, American Forces Press Service
The Air Force's WC-135 Constant
That was the year Army Gen. Dwight D.
Eisenhower directed the Army Air Corps to develop such a capability, and the
U.S. Atomic Energy Detection System has evolved over 64 years into a one-of-a-kind
global web of sensors that see, feel, hear and sniff out nuclear explosions
that occur under land or sea, in the atmosphere or in space.
The Air Force detection system and the job
of monitoring three nuclear treaties -- the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty, the
1974 Threshold Test Ban Treaty and the 1976 Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty
-- in 1980 became a responsibility of the U.S. Air Force Technical Applications
Center, called AFTAC, at Patrick Air Force Base,
When the system detects a nuclear event,
AFTAC scientists analyze it and report findings to national command authorities
through U.S. Air Force headquarters.
David O'Brien is AFTAC's
chief scientist.
"Our responsibility is to ensure that
foreign nations are adhering to the provisions of those treaties," O'Brien
told American Forces Press Service.
To monitor the atmosphere and space, he
said, the U.S. Atomic Energy Detection System, called USAEDS, has sensors
aboard more than 20 satellites that make up the Global Positioning System and
the infrared-sensing satellites that make up the Defense Support Program.
"The latter," O'Brien said,
"are what the United States uses to detect launches of intercontinental
ballistic missiles."
Multiple sensors on all those satellites
"look for phenomenology from a nuclear explosion that occurs in space or
in the atmosphere," he added, "whether it's
nuclear radiation or the flash from the fireball."
The network's five hydroacoustic
stations detect undersea nuclear explosions.
"Those are just underwater microphones,
and they listen for the explosion that goes off underwater," the scientist
said. "By detecting the explosions on more than one underwater microphone,
we can triangulate where it occurred."
But the workhorse since the treaties came
into effect to ban atmospheric nuclear testing, O'Brien said, has been the
underground nuclear monitoring capability.
"Those sensors are seismic, and the
reason they're seismic is that when a large explosion occurs underground, it
creates a signature that looks just like an earthquake," he said.
Infrasound sensors measure changes in the
atmosphere generated by very-low-frequency acoustic waves that can come from
above-ground nuclear explosions.
USAEDS still supplements some of its 40
seismic stations with infrasound, the scientist said, and in the 1960s used
infrasound as the main way to detect nuclear explosions in the atmosphere.
"But once we were able to get sensors
on satellites," he said, "that gave us a much better capability."
When the program first began, its only
sensor, an air sampler, flew on a B-29 aircraft over the
Today the system uses another aircraft, a
WC-135 in a program called Constant Phoenix to collect air samples from areas
where nuclear explosions have occurred.
If there is a nuclear explosion, O'Brien
said, "we will [use meteorology] to project where radioactive debris would
go. Then when it gets into international airspace, the aircraft can go to that
spot."
The plane collects particles so analysts on
the ground can test them to see if they contain radionuclides,
or radioactive elements.
The plane also collects radioactive gases,
especially radioactive xenon, which is a good indicator that a nuclear
explosion has occurred.
With all these sensors, the U.S. Atomic
Energy Nuclear Detection System is the only network that operates 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, but it isn't the only global detection system.
In 1996, the United Nations General Assembly
adopted the provisions of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. One major
provision prohibited nuclear explosions anywhere, by anyone.
Another provision described a 337-facility
International Monitoring System that would scan the earth for nuclear treaty
violations. The IMS facilities include seismic, hydroacoustic,
infrasound and radionuclide stations, but no satellite sensors.
Most of the world's countries have signed
and ratified the treaty. Three countries that have not signed the treaty have
since tested nuclear devices --
The treaty has not yet entered into force --
several more countries must ratify the treaty before that happens. Until it
does enter into force, some of the IMS monitoring stations operate 24 hours a
day, but many do not.
The
The IMS architects "were starting from
scratch in the mid-1990s, and we had many years of experience in these kinds of
systems," he said.
"So they came to us asking for any
advice that would help them avoid the pitfalls of putting a new system
in," the scientist added.
The experts at USAEDS advised the monitoring
system builders on worldwide logistics involved in establishing such a system
and onsite installations.
USAEDS contributes the data from many of its
seismic and hydroacoustic stations to the
International Monitoring System.
"Outside of the USAEDS," O'Brien
said, "the
As a signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear
Test Ban Treaty, the
"We participate in all their
international meetings, and we have since [the system's] inception. They
occasionally come here and visit," O'Brien said. "I think both the
IMS and ourselves are right at the state of the art of any technology that is
practical for use in detecting nuclear explosions."
________________________________________________________________________________
Rodriguez Outlines International
Security Assistance Force 's Drawdown, Transition Plan
by Karen
Parrish, American Forces Press Service
Army Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of
the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in
Rodriguez, who has spent 40 months in
The Army National Guard's 1st Squadron,
134th Cavalry Regiment in Kabul and its 1st Squadron, 113rd
Cavalry Regiment in neighboring Parwan province, both
part of the Iowa National Guard, are set to redeploy with a total of 800
soldiers this month. The Marine Corps' 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment in
Regional Command Southwest is set to redepoy with 800
Marines in the fall, a Pentagon official said.
Joint Command has achieved progress,
Rodriguez said, with a plan that began in summer 2009 to focus on population
centers and commerce nodes aimed at strengthening the "trinity" of
good governance, capable security forces and the people's confidence in
government.
"When all three work together, we know
Afghans can arrive at viable local solutions," he said. "Where we
have focused our efforts, we have degraded the insurgency, built the Afghan
security forces, and ultimately mobilized many of the Afghan people against
those who threaten their way of life."
Afghan forces take on greater responsibility
every day for preventing attacks across the country, he said.
During a recent incident in
Coalition forces and their Afghan and
international civilian partners work together to ensure governmental and
developmental efforts quickly follow security gains, he said.
"We are no longer clearing areas again
and again and again," he noted. "We spend the bulk of our military
effort on degrading or destroying insurgent infrastructure, but we also ensure
that the planning for local security and good governance begins early enough to
be implemented as soon as the security conditions allow."
Coalition and Afghan forces have taken the
fight to the insurgents since winter, Rodriguez said, targeting leaders,
command-and-control networks, support bases and infiltration routes.
"Together, we have captured or killed
[more than] 1,000 insurgents over the last six months, approximately 250
percent more than in the same period last year," he said.
This spring, joint forces located three
times more weapon caches as during spring 2010, he noted.
Coalition forces have "begun the
process of working ourselves out of a job," Rodriguez said. "We will
hand over the lead to the Afghans gradually, over time, and it's going to begin
now."
Handover will begin this month, the general
said, in the first seven areas Afghan President Hamid
Karzai designated as those where his nation's forces
will assume security responsibility: Herat city, Bamiyan
province, Kabul province [except Surobi], Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, Mazar-e-Sharif in Balkh province, and Mehtar
Lam in Laghman province.
"As we move forward with the plan, the
transition will continue to be conditions-based," Rodriguez said. "In
the tougher areas, we will thin out forces and either shift [them] to other
areas or send some forces home."
The commander said he believes transition is
on track, and that coalition and Afghan forces can achieve the 2014 goal of
complete Afghan security responsibility along with the planned
"We've made hard-won progress in
Helmand and
As the number of
"There will be over 350,000 Afghan
national security forces in place to protect the people and continue the
momentum," he said.
As the "look and feel" of the
international presence in
ISAF's plan still
emphasizes building Afghan forces' capability, increasing government
effectiveness in districts and provinces, and decreasing insurgent access to
The focus of coalition efforts in
"We will end up thinning out [in the
south] and then focusing more and more of our energy in the east," he
said. "As far as the timing of that, again, it will be conditions-based,
and it's a little bit too early to take that guess right now."
ISAF's
"We continue to coordinate and build
the relationships so we can better synchronize our plans across that border, but
we still need some more support in doing that," he said.
If
Provincial and district governments must
ensure they're acceptable to the people they serve, so they don't threaten
security, the general said.
"When the people become mobilized and
they build a representative shura that both
represents their people and holds their government accountable, then we're on
the right track," he said. "That government of course has to first
provide security, as well as justice and a representative opportunity."
The most critical task facing the coalition,
Rodriguez said, is to "support good Afghan leaders and encourage them to
build depth within their ranks, and inspire other leaders to join in helping
create a hopeful future."
________________________________________________________________________________
Gates Ends Historic Term as
Defense Secretary
by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service
At the Armed Forces Farewell Tribute on the
Pentagon's parade field today, Gates thanked President George W. Bush for
nominating him for the job in 2006, and President
Barack Obama for retaining him in it during the change in administrations in
2009.
At the ceremony, Obama praised Gates'
bipartisanship, and awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the
highest award a president can confer to a civilian.
Gates also spoke to those who would have the
"Now, as when
Gates said his service as secretary of
defense "has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life, and for
that I will always be grateful."
The transition from the Bush to the Obama
administration was the first during war in nearly 40 years, Gates said, and it showed
how serious people in both parties came together to do good for the country.
"The collegiality, thoroughness and
professionalism of the Bush-Obama transition were of great benefit to the
country and were a tribute to the character and judgment of both
presidents," he said.
When Gates arrived in the Pentagon in
December 2006, Marine Gen. Peter Pace helped shepherd him through the
intricacies of the building, and Gates thanked Pace, the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff at the time, for his help.
Gates also thanked his "battle
buddy," the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Mike
Mullen.
"Without Mike's advice to me, his
effective leadership of the uniformed military and our close partnership, the
record of the last several years would, I think, have been very
different," the secretary said. "Mike was never shy about disagreeing
with me, but unfailingly steadfast and loyal to me and to the presidents he
served once a decision was made. He is the epitome of a military leader and
officer, a man of supreme integrity, a great partner and a good friend."
Gates said he benefited from the great team
in the department when he arrived, and the great team that came in under the
Obama administration. He thanked the political appointees of both parties and
the career civil servants for their efforts in the Pentagon to provide for
those serving on battlefields in
Gates also stressed the need for cooperation
among federal agencies. He specifically pointed out the productive and warm
relationship between the State Department, DOD and the intelligence community.
"The blows struck against al-Qaida,
culminating in the [Osama] bin Laden raid, exemplify
the remarkable transformation of how we must fuse intelligence and military
operations in the 21st century," he said.
Gates said his views on cooperation with The
State Department have evolved over his four decades of government service. When
he began his public service career in 1966, he said, the secretaries of state
and defense barely spoke.
"In the case of Secretaries
[Condoleezza] Rice and [Hillary Rodham]
Gates
also testified before Congress on the need for more money for the State
Department. "We should never forget that diplomats and development experts
from State and [the Agency for International Development] are taking risks and
making sacrifices in some of the planet's least hospitable places," he
said. "And I speak for all our military in appreciating the contributions
they are making every day to the success of our missions in
The secretary thanked his wife, Becky, for
her help and support. When President Bush asked Gates to be the secretary, he
asked his wife what she thought.
"I was really wrestling with the
decision and finally told her she could make it a lot easier if she just said
she didn't want to go back to D.C.," Gates said. "She thought a
moment and replied, 'We have to do what you have to do.' That is something
military spouses have said in one form or another a million times since 9/11
upon learning that their loved one received a deployment notice or is
considering another tour of service.
"She made it easy for me to say yes to
this job, to do what I had to do to answer the call to serve when so much was
at stake for
Gates has spent much of the last few months
visiting with American service members around the world. He has put a farewell
message out to the troops.
"Though I was only able to meet a small
sample of those who deployed downrange, it was important to meet, to look them
in the eye one last time and let them know how much I care about them and
appreciate what they and their families do for our country," he said.
"I'll just say here that I will think of these young warriors -- the ones
who fought, the ones who keep on fighting, the ones who never made it back --
till the end of my days."
Gates praised his successor as secretary,
Leon E. Panetta, who will be sworn in as the 23rd defense secretary tomorrow.
"This department and this country are
fortunate that a statesman of Leon Panetta's caliber and experience has agreed
to serve once again, and at such an important time," Gates said. "My
parting advice for
________________________________________________________________________________
Obama Announces Troop
Reductions, Way Forward in
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON - Thanks to the tremendous progress U.S., coalition and
Afghan troops have made, the United States will draw down the number of troops
in Afghanistan by 10,000 this year and 33,000 by the end of summer 2012,
President Barack Obama said.
"The
tide of war is receding," the president said during an address to the
nation from the White House. "Fewer of our sons and daughters are serving
in harm's way."
In a statement released by the Pentagon
following the presiden'ts announcement, Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates said the president's decision capitalizes on the
security successes.
"Over the past 18 months our troops
have made tremendous progress degrading the capability of the Taliban while
enhancing the Afghan security forces," Gates said. "It is critical
that we continue to aggressively prosecute that strategy. I support the
President's decision because it provides our commanders with enough resources,
time and, perhaps most importantly, flexibility to bring the surge to a
successful conclusion."
When completed in September 2012, the drawdown
will remove the last of the plus-up of forces in
In that same speech, the president announced
the new Afghan strategy, which was to focus on al-Qaida, reverse the Taliban's
momentum and to train Afghan security forces. He also announced that the
drawdown would begin in July 2011.
Obama said his announcement tonight is proof
that the strategy is working. "Thanks to our men and women in uniform, our
civilian personnel, and our many coalition partners, we are meeting our
goals," he said. When the first stage of the drawdown is complete in
September 2012, the surge will be over.
"By 2014, this process of transition
will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own
security," Obama said.
The
"Even as there will be dark days ahead
in
Obama said the past 10 years have been
difficult for
The president pledged that
In a background briefing before the speech,
senior administration officials said the president's decision had the full
support of the national security team. Army Gen. David Petraeus,
the commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force in
"I think there's a broad understanding
among the national security team that there's an imperative to both consolidate
the gains that have been made and continue our efforts to train Afghan security
forces and partner with them in going after the Taliban, while also being very
serious about the process of transition and the drawdown of our forces,"
the official said.
The drawdown begins from a position of
strength, Obama said. Al-Qaida and its Taliban allies are under tremendous
pressure. Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in
"In
Everything is not rosy, the president said,
and the
"The goal that we seek is achievable,
and can be expressed simply: no safe-haven from which al-Qaida or its
affiliates can launch attacks against our homeland, or our allies," the
president said.
"We will not try to make
The president also addressed the terrorist
threat that resides in
The
The president stressed that
He said the nation needs to rebuild its
infrastructure and find new and clean sources of energy. "Most of all,
after a decade of passionate debate, we must recapture the common purpose that
we shared at the beginning of this time of war," he said. "For our
nation draws strength from our differences, and when our union is strong no
hill is too steep and no horizon is beyond our reach.
"
________________________________________________________________________________
DOD Makes Progress in
Civilian Hiring Reform
By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service
Pasquale "Pat" M. Tamburrino Jr., deputy assistant secretary of defense for
civilian personnel policy, said the practice left defense offices short of
critical skills for extended periods and discouraged the best candidates from
even considering federal service.
"If you are going to be in the
marketplace, competing for the best and brightest, which is what we want, we
want to be the employer of choice," he said. "And if you make it hard
to apply, you are going to lose in the marketplace."
Committed to attracting the best job
candidates, the Defense Department is making good on President Barack Obama's
mandate last year to improve the federal hiring process.
DOD launched its own hiring reform initiative
two years ago, and it's revolutionizing the way the department processes about
250,000 hiring actions a year, Tamburrino said.
The typical timeframe for hiring new
employees already has been cut from an average of 155 days to 116. "We're
pretty happy with that, but we are not stopping there," Tamburrino said. His goal is to reduce that to the
administration's goal of about 80 days.
The broad, 10-step DOD hiring reform
initiative covers the full spectrum of the hiring process to make it not only
faster, but also simpler, less bureaucratic and more transparent, he explained.
It makes applying for a DOD job more in line with what the private sector
offers, he added, and ensures hiring managers have the tools they need to
advertise and fill vacancies.
It builds a closer partnership between hiring
managers and human resources personnel to expedite the hiring process and make
it a better experience for everyone involved, Tamburrino
said.
For applicants, gone is the burdensome
Standard Form 171, the official federal resume that could run 15 to 20 pages.
Also gone is the requirement that job-seekers write essays proving they have
the proper knowledge, skills and abilities, called KSAs,
for the job.
Applications have gone electronic, filed
through the Office of Personnel Management's governmentwide
"USAJobs" portal. And once applicants enter
their profile into the system, detailing their education, work history and
skills, that information propagates all of their other job applications.
After they press "send," applicants
are no longer left wondering if their application has gone into a "black
hole," Tamburrino said. "People are getting
feedback when they submit their application," he said. "They are
getting a response: 'Your application is in the queue. It has been received by
the [human resources] office. It is being processed.'"
Any questions that need to be cleared up are
addressed early on to ensure they don't slow down the process.
DOD's hiring reform initiative doesn't stop
with the application process. Hiring managers are adopting new, streamlined
methods to advertise their positions and interview the best-qualified
candidates.
The days of "convoluted vacancy
announcements that were almost unique to every individual job we
advertised" have fallen by the wayside, Tamburrino
said. Now, rather than custom-writing every vacancy announcement, hiring
managers are encouraged to use standardized templates that cover basic job
functions at the designated occupational series and grade level. Minor edits to
those templates ensure they properly describe the particular job being filled.
"We think that makes it go a lot
faster," Tamburrino said. "We are teaching
managers how to do structured interviews and how to write better job
opportunity announcements."
Much of that instruction is provided through
the new online Hiring Managers Toolkit, which DOD started rolling out about
eight months ago and continues to refine. The toolkit offers guides, tip sheets
and checklists to help hiring managers better partner with their human
resources servicing centers, Tamburrino said.
The toolkit has become the gold standard
among federal agencies, receiving raves from OPM and others wanting to adopt it
as well.
"We routinely get feedback on that
toolkit, that it is one of the most forward-leaning, innovative tools in the
federal government," Tamburrino said. "We
are unaware of any other executive agency that has a toolkit with as many tools
in it and as many information pieces in it to help hiring managers. ... We
think we have a lock on the market."
Another key to DOD's hiring reform initiative
are the human resources professionals themselves.
"You are responsible for providing the
very best in customer service," Tamburrino tells
his HR professionals. "If an organization comes to you seeking advice, you
must give clear, plain-language advice on how to address their challenge."
As subject-matter experts who understand the
nuances of sometimes daunting federal hiring regulations and know what it takes
to attract and recruit good talent, HR professionals are valuable partners in
helping hiring managers navigate the hiring process, he said.
As DOD starts realizing the benefit of its
hiring reform initiative, Tamburrino said, he's
seeing a lot of enthusiasm about its possibilities.
Feedback, garnered through surveys, gives job
applicants and hiring managers alike an opportunity to weigh in on the
improvements. Tamburrino said it also helps to
uncover shortcomings in an effort to further refine the process.
Regardless of how much the process improves, Tamburrino said he never expects to be able to declare
"mission accomplished."
"I don't think this is ever going to be
over," he said. "This is continuous process improvement, and I don't
think we are ever going to be satisfied with where we are." In the
meantime, Tamburrino said, he's satisfied with the
direction the process is taking DOD's hiring process.
"It's timeliness and quality,
balanced," he said. "It's success for the
applicant and success for the manager, balanced."
These initiatives have eliminated barriers to
attracting the broadest, most talented workforce for the department's work in
caring for military members and their families, conducting research, running
depots and shipyards, and even developing the next-generation weapons systems, Tamburrino said.
"Where else are you going to do
that?" he asked. "We think we are a great place to work, and we give
people at every level of experience a great opportunity to do really unique
stuff. So we want people to gravitate to us, and we want an ability to really
pick out the crown jewels that exist out there in the workforce and say, 'Come
work with us.'"
Ultimately, Tamburrino
said, he'd like to see the hiring reform initiative expand its focus to
"employment reform." He describes that as an effort to improve the
way the Defense Department manages the careers of the civilian employees it
recruits.
"To me, it is a whole lifecycle
event," he said. "Getting you in is just one step."
________________________________________________________________________________
Mullen Says SEAL Team Represents
All of Military
By Jim Garamone, American
Forces Press Service
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen answered questions
posed by Tom Brokaw during the annual fund raiser at the
"It really was the culmination of a
phenomenal effort on the part of all the government agencies," the
chairman said. He singled out "the best intelligence work I've ever seen
that enabled those in the military who executed this mission to do so
successfully."
The chairman praised President Barack
Obama's decision to go after bin Laden saying it was by no means a sure thing
that the al-Qaida leader was in the one-acre compound. "I thought it was a
courageous decision on the part of the president," Mullen said, noting it
was only a 55 percent chance that the 9/11 attack mastermind was in the
compound.
The president did "100 percent
certainty in relying on our military," the chairman said.
The SEAL team that killed bin Laden
"represents 2.2 million men and women -- active, Guard and reserve,"
Mullen said. They are part of the best military he has seen in his more than
four decades of service that started in
"I've spoken to them -- they are proud
of what they did; they are proud to represent this extraordinary military,"
he said. "They really did make a difference."
The silent special operations warriors also
would like to fade back into the shadows, the chairman said, "and I hope
that we can let them do that."
Brokaw asked Mullen about what the feeling
was like in the White House when word came back from
"It was far from over at that
point," he said. "They were still inside the building. There was the
need to get them out and get them out safely."
They, of course, did make it out safely. The
special operators performed the mission perfectly even when faced with an
additional challenge -- one helicopter had a hard landing and had to be
abandoned.
"I think tremendous credit goes to a
lot of people," Mullen said. "Not only did we execute this mission,
but we didn't lose anybody, none of our people were injured, and we achieved it
in a way that many people didn't think we could years ago. They are the best of
the best."
________________________________________________________________________________
DOD Launches Online Career
Transition Training for Service Members
The Department of Defense today announced
the launch of an online Career Decision Toolkit that will allow service members
to self assess transition needs and thoroughly explore an array of transition
related subjects such as: career exploration, financial planning for
transition, job search success, effective resumes and cover letters, interviewing
excellence, and negotiating your ideal compensation.
"The toolkit is customized to a service
member's own transition needs and assists them in cataloguing their military
skills and experience in a way that helps them effectively communicate their
skills to prospective employers," said John R. Campbell, deputy assistant
secretary of defense for wounded warrior care and transition policy.
The online toolkit will deliver 24-hour
global access to career transition training to service members who are not
geographically able to attend Transition Assistance Program (TAP) classes
traditionally offered at military installations. The toolkit's online launch also marks the
second phase of a major redesign of the Defense Department's main career transition
website, and a cornerstone of the transformation of TAP into a blended delivery
model that takes advantage of online resources, as well as a virtual classroom
settings and platforms to enhance the traditional "brick and mortar"
TAP experience that most service members receive.
Originally released in compact disc format
last August, the Career Decision Toolkit was developed by the DoD's Office of Wounded Warrior
Care and Transition Policy in collaboration with Departments of Veterans
Affairs and Labor to assist separating, demobilizing, retiring and wounded
service members, and their families, to effectively navigate their course to
civilian employment and educational opportunities.
For more information on the online Career
Decision Toolkit, visit http://www.turbotap.org or contact Office of Wounded Warrior Care and
Transition Policy at 703-428-7649 or warriorcare@osd.mil.
________________________________________________________________________________
Teams Search for Missing
Americans in
from a
Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command News Release
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM,
The group from the U.S. Joint Prisoners of
War/Missing in Action Accounting Command, known as JPAC, arrived in
Recovery teams will search for human
remains, life-support items and other material evidence that may further the
identification of missing Americans.
JPAC is a jointly manned U.S. Pacific
Command organization of more than 400 military and civilian specialists that
has investigated and recovered missing
The
________________________________________________________________________________
Shift in Middle East
Requires
by Karen
Parrish, American Forces Press Service
Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis, commander of U.S. Central Command, testified before
the committee today on conditions within Centcom's
area of responsibility, which encompasses not only
Popular uprisings in
"While the long-term impact of this
unrest is unknown, it presents as many opportunities as it does
challenges," the general said. "The changes that we are seeing will
manifest differently in each country. People are seeking their rights, and for
the most part doing so peacefully and bravely."
Sustained military-to-military engagement is
essential to the
"It is important that we work today
with the people and the governments throughout the region," he said.
"We don't want to see this change slide into a new form of
authoritarianism."
While each nation marked by recent civil
unrest is different, the Centcom commander said,
"We remain committed to strengthening our military bonds and advancing our
mutual interests in peace and opportunity for all."
"The Egyptian armed forces continue to demonstrate
exceptional discipline and restraint under trying circumstances," Mattis said. "As [Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff] recently noted, our assistance has helped the
Egyptian military become the professional force that it is today, just as our
military has learned a great deal from our Egyptian counterparts, who have
contributed a stabilizing influence in this time of transition."
The
"Our efforts require coordination and a
spirit of collaboration between highly integrated civilian-military
teams," he said. "Our civilian colleagues need your full support,
even in this difficult fiscal environment, to undertake their essential role in
today's complex environment."
The general said robust resourcing for the
State Department is an investment in reducing the need for military forces.
"Together, our military leaders and our
diplomats not only represent a symbol of America's enduring commitment to the
region, but they also build trust through partnerships that have an important
stabilizing effect when trouble looms," Mattis
said.
________________________________________________________________________________
Center Provides Advice on
Post-deployment Intimacy Issues
by Lisa
Daniel, American Forces Press Service
Couples who have survived multiple combat
deployments know the situation all too well.
"The first few years of the war,
everybody thought they'd get off the plane and the honeymoon would start,"
Rebekah Sanderlin, an Army
wife at
"We had a hard time just feeling like
we knew each other," Sanderlin said of her
husband, who has deployed several times. "It was like there was a stranger
in the house. Even if we were physically intimate, we really didn't feel
connected."
The Sanderlins are
far from alone. "I haven't met anybody who just bounces right back,"
she said of redeployed couples.
While it's hard to quantify the problem, it
is common enough that psychiatrists with the Center for the Study of Traumatic
Stress, part of the
"Intimacy is an important part of post-deployment
health care," Dr. Stephen J. Cozza, associate
director of the center and professor of psychiatry at the university, told
American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel. Any couple separated
for many months needs to be patient and give extra attention to their
relationship after a deployment, he added.
But for those suffering from the current
wars' signature wounds of post-traumatic stress or traumatic brain injury,
"those conditions can have a profound effect on relationships, and especially
intimacy," Cozza said.
People with post-traumatic stress sometimes
experience personality changes, become emotionally distant or avoid people and
feelings, he explained. TBIs can further complicate
relationships, and especially sexuality, depending on the injury, which may
leave the person in physical pain and cause their partner to double as
caregiver, he said.
Add to that possible side effects of
medications, impulsive or violent behavior, or substance abuse, and many
post-deployment problems can hinder intimacy, Cozza
said.
All of this can be devastating to couples
and seeking help can be difficult. "How do you bring that subject
up?" Cozza asked. "Often, we just don't
even have the words to express it."
The center has developed fact sheets and
guidance for health care providers and families on issues of reintegration and
intimacy. They cite intimacy as an often neglected area of care and urge people
to talk about their problems -- and for providers to bring up the issue.
Other guidance for health care providers
includes:
--
Educate patients and partners about implications of brain injuries, especially
in areas that control sexuality, inhibitions and impulses;
--
Encourage communication to work through redeployment changes, including
self-image; and
--
Urge creativity in finding solutions to intimacy challenges.
"It's really important for people to
have a sexual relationship that doesn't have to be all about sex," Cozza said.
Sometimes service members return home more intense
and aggressive than when they left, and they may have different attitudes about
sex, Cozza said. Counselors can help them work
through those changes, he added, and partners should refrain from sex until
it's mutually enjoyable.
Many couples can work out their
post-deployment intimacy problems within a few months of being back together,
and even in the case of serious injuries, intimacy usually returns over time, Cozza said.
The center's tips for improving intimacy
include:
--
Find ways to be close that do not involve sex, such as showing affection in
other ways;
--
Spend quality time together;
--
Talk about your feelings, hopes and desires when you're both calm and ready to
listen;
--
Respect your partner's need for space; and
--
Schedule intimate time.
Sanderlin and her
husband discovered that a little professional counseling can go a long way.
"I recommend counseling for
everybody," she said. "TRICARE pays for it, and all you have to do is
call Army OneSource." But no matter how many times her husband deploys, Sanderlin said, reintegration always is a challenge.
"It seems to take several months to
feel normal again," she said.
________________________________________________________________________________
Preparation Aids Financial
Stability During Deployments
by Elaine
Wilson, American Forces Press Service
"A deployment is a very demanding and
intense time, and the servicemember and family need
to be focused on their specific missions," Dave Julian said today in an
interview with American Forces Press Service. "It's hard to do that if
there's a big financial situation lurking."
The most important step military families
can take prior to a deployment is to sit down together and develop a spending
plan, Julian said. The plan should include what the existing bills are, who
will pay them, how they'll be paid and where the money needs to be sent.
Installation personal financial managers and Military OneSource consultants can
offer help with developing a plan, he added.
To facilitate financial transactions, Julian
recommended both spouses be listed on all accounts with equal access and
suggested they share usernames and passwords prior to a deployment. For single servicemembers, powers of attorney can give a family member
permission to handle some types of financial transactions. The legal office is
the best place to go for help with these documents, he noted.
In any case, servicemembers
and their families should notify their financial institutions and creditors of
an upcoming deployment. They may be able to get a break on car insurance or on
interest rates, Julian said.
Another avenue for financial relief is the
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. This act has provisions that can, for
instance, cap interest rates for some debts incurred prior to being activated
for duty at 6 percent or prevent court actions from taking place during a
deployment. Certain provisions, such as the 6 percent cap, apply only to
reserve component members, Julian noted, so it's important to be aware of the
guidelines.
The pre-deployment discussion also should
include how pay will change in conjunction with a deployment, Julian said,
noting that in many cases servicemembers will receive
a "sizeable increase" due to imminent danger pay and combat zone tax
exclusion, which makes pay in theater tax-free.
"The plan should address what should be
done with the extra money," he advised.
An increase in pay, while fortunate, can
turn into a liability if families change their spending habits during a deployment
without taking a post-deployment drop in pay into account, Julian noted.
"There's a temptation to adjust
spending behaviors to accommodate the increase," he said. "People may
make purchases that have monthly payments that are based on the increased
deployment pay. That can present a problem later on."
To avoid overspending, Julian suggested
people maintain their pre-deployment standard of living during the deployment
and earmark extra money to pay down debt or stockpile money for the future in
programs such as the Thrift Savings Plan or the Savings Deposit Plan. Deployed servicemembers in a tax-free combat zone are able to
contribute up to $49,000 to the TSP, which includes an annual limit of $16,500
in tax-deferred contributions.
"Most servicemembers
are young, which is the best time to invest," Julian said. "There's
no better investment/savings vehicle than the Thrift Savings Plan, a 401K-style
plan. I strongly encourage families to invest in that. Make the money you make
while deployed work for you."
The Savings Deposit Plan enables deployed servicemembers to earn a guaranteed 10 percent annual
return on up to $10,000 invested.
"It's a great deal," Julian said.
"You can't find a guaranteed 10 percent return anywhere."
Pre-deployment servicemembers
also should broach the difficult topic of what to do in the event of an injury
or death, Julian advised. Families could be the recipients of sizeable lump-sum
amounts -- $100,000 to $400,000 or even greater -- in the event of traumatic injury
or worse to the servicemember. It's important to
understand what those benefits are and what the expectations are in regards to
the money, he said.
And to ensure money ends up in the right
hands, servicemembers should check with their
personnel office to ensure beneficiaries are up to date, Julian stressed,
particularly if there's a new spouse or family member in the household.
Julian also emphasized the need to establish
an emergency fund with a minimum of $500. "You can have the best plan in the
world, but some contingencies may happen on deployment that you didn't
anticipate," he said, noting that unexpected incidents, such as a car
breaking down or a basement flooding, can arise during a deployment.
This contingency money should help eliminate
the need for high-interest, short term loans such as pay day loans. Instead, if
needed, Julian suggested servicemembers and their
families seek assistance from a service relief society, such as Air Force Aid,
Army Emergency Relief, or the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society. On-base
banks and credit unions are trusted agents as well.
"There are places to go for help that
are inside the gate," he said.
Julian said the best advice he can give
deploying servicemembers is to attend any and all
pre-deployment briefings.
"They're the best one-stop shopping to
get connected with the right resources and people," he said.
________________________________________________________________________________
Medal of Honor Recipients
Promote Mental-Health Support
by Donna
Miles, American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON - Twenty-eight Medal of Honor
recipients recently launched the "Medal of Honor, Speak Out" campaign
to encourage troops struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic
brain injuries and other health problems to take advantage of services to help
them.
The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps
Medal of Honor recipients dating back to World War II echo a common theme in
video messages for today's returning combat veterans: Take advantage of the
resources now available to treat the unseen scars of war.
"Make use of them," they encourage
today's troops. "Stay strong, and don't let the enemy defeat you at
home."
The Medal of Honor recipients, many who have
endured harrowing wartime experiences, acknowledge in individual videos the
emotional challenges many returning combat veterans experience.
"I know firsthand the challenges of
war," said former Army Staff Sgt. Drew Dix, who received the Medal of
Honor for his actions as a Special Forces adviser in
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Pat Brady, a
helicopter ambulance pilot who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in
"There were other wounds, wounds that
went beyond flesh and blood; wounds that could not be rescued by
helicopters," Brady said. "Those enemy scars followed our troops home."
George E. "Bud" Day, an Air Force
forward air controller in
"Back in those days, they didn't have
the services, resources and tools that are available today to help servicemembers and their families deal with the challenges
of adjusting after deployment," Day said. "The tools and resources
are there now. Please make use of them."
The Medal of Honor recipients expressed
pride in today's servicemembers who are following in
their footsteps.
"Thank you for your service to our
country," said Hershel "Woody" Williams, a former Marine who
received a Medal of Honor for his actions during World War II. "We are so
proud of you."
________________________________________________________________________________
Navy to Start Training Female
Submariners in July
by Lisa Daniel, American Forces Press Service
The decision became public after Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates notified Congress in February of the Navy's desire to
add women to submarines. With a congressional review period complete, Navy
officials say they will begin taking applications with a goal of training 19
women, starting in July.
"There are extremely capable women in
the Navy who have the talent and desire to succeed in the submarine
force," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a press
release. "Enabling them to serve in the submarine community is best for
the submarine force and our Navy. We literally could not run the Navy without
women today."
Adm. Gary Roughead,
chief of Naval Operations, seconded his enthusiasm for the change. "As a
former commanding officer of a ship that had a mixed-gender crew, to me it
would be foolish to not take the great talent, the great confidence and
intellect of the young women who serve in our Navy today and bring that into
the submarine force."
Vice Adm. John J. Donnelly, commander of
Naval Submarine Forces, noted that about half of all science and engineering
bachelor's degrees today are awarded to women. "Maintaining the best
submarine force in the world requires us to recruit from the largest possible
talent pool."
The Navy's plan for integration calls for
recruiting female Naval Academy graduates and providing them the same training
as given to male submariners, Rear Adm. Barry L. Bruner, commander of Submarine
Group 10 and the leader of the Women on Submarines Task Force, said during a
phone interview with reporters.
"We're looking for the same
qualifications that we have for men," Bruner said. "There is no
difference." Those qualifications include a technically-based education
that includes calculus and physics, he said. Female candidates for submarine
duty also will undergo the Navy's intense interview and screening process for
prospective underwater sailors.
Because the policy is new, officials can't
yet gauge women's interest in serving on submarines, Bruner said, but added
that a number of female academy students and graduates have shown interest.
The plan calls for phasing in three female
officers in eight different crews of guided-missile attack and ballistic
missile submarines, Bruner said. The class they will serve in is comprised of
14 ballistic missile submarines and four cruise missile submarines, he said.
The submarines were chosen because the berthing and restrooms are designed so
they need very few changes, he said. It is too soon to say specifically which
submarines they will serve on, but there will be one each in King's Bay, Ga.,
and Bangor, Maine, he said.
Bruner became convinced of the need to
integrate women onto submarines years ago, he said, after spending some time
aboard allied nations' submarines that included women crew members.
"I went in really with my eyes wide
open," he said. "I came away under the impression that there is no
difference in the camaraderie or abilities [of crews] on ships with women on
board."
Bruner later became the commander of a
strike group with women on all of its ships. "I asked, 'Why aren't we
doing this on submarines? It's such a viable talent pool.'"
The Navy has learned from its 1994 change
that integrated women onto surface ships, Bruner said. The service will have
enough women on ships and submarines, he said, so that they aren't isolated.
And, men and women submariners will have additional training before the
integration and there will be female sailors available as mentors, he said.
After talking to current submariners and
their families, Bruner said, he doesn't think the integration will cause much
of a cultural change.
"The change to the culture on
submarines is going to be pretty minimal, to be honest," Bruner said. The
only concern among current submariners, he said, is that all crew members live
up to the demands of the undersea service.
"When you wear the dolphins of a submariner,
you have to prove that if there is a casualty on the ship that could result in
the loss of the ship and all the lives on the ship, you have to be able to
react correctly to save the ship," Bruner said. "That's the most
import thing to submariners."
Bruner said he has no doubt that the women
will prove themselves.
"I think we have the right processes in
place and we'll train on them again," he said. "We'll hit all the
potential areas that could cause problems."
At a town hall meeting held last night at
King's Bay Naval Base, Bruner said, only two wives within an audience of about
75 expressed discontent over the new policy. Their concerns, he said, were
whether women would get preferential promotions.
Bruner reiterated that the women will be
held to the same workplace rules as men. "Sometimes change can be hard,
and the way you get through it is through education and explaining why you're
doing it and how you'll go through it," he said.
________________________________________________________________________________